2023 nba playoffs

Drake’s NBA Finals Bets Netted The Rapper So Much Money As The Denver Nuggets Sidestepped The ‘Drake Curse’

by
Drake Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert 2022
Getty Image

A co-sign from Drake raises the profile of any rising musician. On the other hand, sports fans tremble when the “Search & Rescue” rapper pours his support behind their favorite teams. However, Drake’s NBA Finals bet win netted the rapper nearly a million dollars as the Denver Nuggets sidestepped the “Drake Curse.”

Yesterday, the team pulled out the Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat with the final score of 94 to 89. The musician took to Instagram to share his bets on the game. He shared two that he placed, both on June 1.

The first bet was that the series would be wrapped up in five games, with the Nuggets winning four games to Miami’s one. That bet cost $250K and would net a total return of $850K. Secondly, he bet $1 million on the Nuggets to win outright. The payout for this bet brought in $1.23 million. So, overall, Drake walked away $830K richer.

The championship is the first ever for the Nuggets, which started as an ABA team back in 1967. So, the win was a huge moment for Denver, but it seemed like star center Nikola Jokic was pretty quickly ready to move on: When he was informed that the team’s championship parade was still a few days away, he seemed genuinely bummed, saying, “No, I have to go home.”

HER Is ‘Grateful’ For ‘The Journey’ In Her Soaring Ballad, Helping ESPN Soundtrack The 2023 NBA Playoffs

by
HER pr 2023
Courtesy of RCA Records/R&CPMK

HER (real name Gabriella Wilson) knows about winning trophies. She’s well-positioned to earn EGOT status. All that’s left is a Tony Award, which she’ll have a shot at as a member of the production team of Here Lies Love, debuting on Broadway this summer.

So it’s fitting that HER’s newest single, “The Journey,” is helping ESPN soundtrack its coverage of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. It had been included as an unreleased track, but as of Thursday, May 18, it’s her first solo release since 2021’s Grammy-nominated Back Of My Mind album.

One week ago, HER teased the single with an Instagram video of her listening back to her vocals in the studio with live strings instrumentalists recording. “ITS THE VOCAL AND STRINGS FOR ME,” she captioned the post. “I can’t wait for you to hear what I’ve been working so hard on.”

She took to Instagram again with a clip of the polished version earlier this week. “THE JOURNEY… It hasn’t been an easy one. But I’m grateful for it all. Ready for the next chapter… I’ll share more soon,” the five-time Grammy winner wrote.

“‘The Journey’ has been included within various in-game ESPN production elements, including vignettes voiced over by HER,” a press release explained. “The vignettes and additional production elements outline, through the song lyrics, the unique paths through the NBA Playoffs for all 16 teams.”

The field is down to four. The 2023 NBA Playoffs continued with the Denver Nuggets topping the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, May 16, and the Miami Heat claiming Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, May 17. Whichever team hoists the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy will still have a ways to go to catch HER.

Listen to “The Journey” below.

Jack Harlow Had An Encounter With Kyle Lowry’s Much-Discussed Butt And Shared His Findings

by
Jack Harlow 65th GRAMMY Awards 2023
Getty Image

Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has had a long and successful NBA career, and the six-time All-Star still an impactful player even at 36 years old. His game isn’t anything to joke about, but he has been the subject of some memes due to the size of his butt. That part of his anatomy gets brought up here and there, like when ESPN’s Ryan Clark went viral last year for tweeting, “Kyle Lowry has to be wearing some kind of padding under his uniform. No way my man built like that.”

Now, Jack Harlow unintentionally did some investigative reporting on Lowry’s backside and has shared his findings.

Yesterday (April 30), Harlow attended the Heat’s playoff game against the New York Knicks, where Lowry ended up in his lap after a fall. Harlow then posted a point-of-view photo of the court from his courtside seat and shared it on his Instagram Story, writing, “Kyle Lowry just took a fadeaway 3 and landed in my lap. The rumors are true. His sh*t was like a pillow.”

Lowry has addressed all the talk about his backside, saying on Vince Carter’s The VC Show podcast last summer, “It used to bother me a lot. It used to get to me. It used to really get to me, I’m gonna be honest with you. And now, I don’t care.” He then rattled off some of his career accomplishments and continued, “Thick’s been good for me. Yeah yeah, I’m cool with it. […] Y’all can create all the memes y’all want. I embrace it. I love it.”

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jayson Tatum Used A Postgame Interview To Apologize To Janet Jackson After The Celtics Finally Beat The Hawks

by
Janet Jackson Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony 2022
Getty Image

The Boston Celtics were expected to finish off the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series on Tuesday, April 25, but the Hawks won, 119-117, and forced a Game 6 for Thursday, April 27. Free basketball is rarely a bad thing, but in this case, there was a cost.

Janet Jackson already had her Together Again Tour scheduled to stop at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on April 27, meaning State Farm Arena was suddenly double-booked for Jackson and the Hawks’ Game 6.

State Farm Arena announced that Jackson’s concert was rescheduled for Friday, April 28.

Jayson Tatum felt bad for inconveniencing her. The Celtics later took care of the Hawks in Thursday night’s Game 6, 128-120. Tatum finished his on-court postgame interview by apologizing.

“I want to send an apology to the legend Janet Jackson,” the four-time All-Star said with a smile. “We were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show. I hope she sees this. I apologize for that, but we got it done today.”

Jackson seems totally unbothered by the ordeal. She posted highlights from her April 26 show in Atlanta, the first of two nights, and captioned the Instagram post, “Atlanta, show 1 of 2 tonight! See you again Friday (congrats Hawks!) …swipe to see the band’s fave parts of the show. #TogetherAgainTour [basketball emoji].”

Jackson might run into another scheduling issue with the New York Knicks if a Game 5 is needed against the Miami Heat in their Eastern Conference semifinals series, which will begin this Sunday, April 30. A potential Game 5 would be at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, May 10 — Jackson’s second of two nights scheduled at MSG.

E-40 Dropped A New Song And Video About Sitting In The ‘Front Row’ After Getting Ejected From The Warriors And Kings Game

by

The Sacramento Kings are up 2-0 on the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, but the Kings took an L when E-40 was controversially ejected from Game 1 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Saturday, April 15.

The following day, E-40 released a statement explaining that he felt he “was subjected to disrespectful heckling” and was met with “racial bias” when Golden 1 Center security “assumed that I instigated the encounter and proceeded to kick me out of the arena” (as reported by Shams Charania):

E-40 issued another statement, this time alongside the Kings, on Wednesday, April 19, and it was determined “that there was a miscommunication regarding the circumstances” and clarified that E-40 “did not stand excessively from his ticketed courtside seat.” Here it is in full:

But today, April 20, E-40 had the final word. He dropped “Front Row 40” along with a video directed by Jae Synth. The visual finds E-40 reclaiming his rightful place courtside. “Front Row 40, four-seat Earl / Feet on the wood, me and my girl,” the Bay Area icon raps as footage cycles through of E-40’s past front-row adventures.

E-40 boasts about people saying “they watch the games just to see what I’m gonna wear” and “text me and say they see me on the Jumbotron.” Of course, the video wouldn’t be complete without a clip of Steph Curry dapping up E-40.

It’s likely that E-40 will be in attendance to root on his Dubs in Game 3 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, but it sounds like 50 Cent might be a game-time decision. The Warriors will need all the juice they can get from their home crowd; they’ll be without Draymond Green, who was suspended for tonight’s Game 3 after stomping on Domantas Sabonis in Game 2. The game tips off at 7 p.m. local time.

Watch “Front Row 40” above.